Lever-propelled, dent-removing hand tool



Nov. 10, 1959 A. o. OLSON LEVER-PROPELLED, DENT-REMOVING HAND TOOL Filed June 11, 1958 Anmmtov dlluin 0. Olson United States Patent LEVER-PROPELLED, DENT-REMOVING HAND TOOL Alvin 0. Olson, Mason City, Iowa Application June 11, 1958, Serial No. 741,375

4 Claims. (Cl. 81-15) My invention relates to metal working tools and more specifically to a tool that can be-used to shape metal when Working space is at a minimum.

The modern automobile has much of its body comprised of a very lightweight sheet metal. This metal is found on substantially all of the exterior of the vehicle body. The art of repairing this metal after it has been bent or crushed requires very exacting skill and various tools have been devised to assist in the repairing operation. However, space requirements often prevent these useful tools from accomplishing their intended function. Thus, for example it is very difficult to utilize a hammer to reshape a fender that has been crushed inwardly towards the automobile body. It is for confined spaces such as this that my invention is especially designed.

The only tool known to me that has even attempted to resolve the problem of shaping metal in confined spaces is a pneumatic hammer device. The greatest shortcoming of this device is that the air lines themselves add to the congestion and a source of compressed air to operate the device adds to the expense of installation. Furthermore, these pneumatic hammers tend to bounce away from the metal, rather than delivering their full impact to the metal.

Therefore, the principal object of my invention is to provide a thin-metal working tool which can be effectively used in confined places to shape metal. 7

A further object of my invention is to provide a thinmetal working tool which will deliver a uniform impact to the metal.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a thin-metal working tool which will not jump away from the metal upon delivering a stroke thereto.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a thin-metal working tool which will be substantially selfacting.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a thin-metal working tool that is economical of manufacture, durable in use and refined in appearance.

These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangements and combination, of the various parts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained as hereinafter more fully set forth, specifically pointed out in my claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view of my device showing the various elements in the position assumed when the device is not being operated;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of my device which is a top view of the structure shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of my device in the first stage of its operation;

Fig. 4 is a partial elevational view of my device at a further stage of its operation; and

Fig. 5 is a partial elevational view of my device just before the hammer element is trapped.

I have used the numeral to designate the elongated can be welded on the bottom edge of handle 10 a short distance from the forward end thereof. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, stop flange 16 extends laterally a short distance from each side of handle 10.

A hammer lever 18 is pivotally secured to one side of handle 10 by bolt and nut assembly 20 at a point forwardly of stop flange 16. The forward end of hammer lever 18 extends beyond the forward end of handle 10 and terminates in hammer point 22. Hammer point 22 extends upwardly from the longitudinal axis of hammer lever 18. A stop flange 24 extends laterally from the lower edge of hammer lever 18 at a point just rearwardly of hammer point 22.. A lug 26 extends laterally from the side of hammer lever 18 at a point just forwardly of bolt and nut assembly 20. A boss 28 is concentrically mounthammer spring. Thus, hammer spring 30 always tends to rotate hammer lever 18 in a counter-clockwise direction with respect to handle 14 as viewed in Figs. 3, 4, and 5. The rearward end of hammer lever 18 extends over stop flange 16 on handle 10, and as shown in Figs. l and 3, the hammer lever is normally held in parallel alignment with handle 10 by the combined action of hammer spring 30 and stop flange 16.

Arm 32 is pivotally secured to the side of handle 10 opposite to hammer lever 18. Bolt and nut assembly 34 effects this pivoted connection between the arm and handle member at a point on the handle forwardly of stop flange 16 but rearwardly of bolt and nut assembly 20. A rivet 36 extends laterally and outwardly from the side of arm 32 at a point forwardly of bolt and nut assembly 34. A boss 38 is concentrically mounted upon bolt and nut assembly 34 and serves as a bearing means for one end of coil steel cocking spring 40. Bolt and nut assembly 34 are able to be tightened to rigidly hold the end of cocking spring 40 Which extends around boss 38 in a stationary position. The forward end of cocking spring 40 is held in engagement with the lower side of rivet 36, as shown in Fig. 1, by the tension in the spring itself. The cocking spring 40 normally urgesarm 32 to pivot in a counter-clockwise direction with respect to handle 10 as viewed in Figs. 3, 4 and 5, just as hammer spring 30 was described to urge hammer lever '18. The lower edge of the rearward end of arm 32 is tapered at 42 and this tapered portion extends over stop flange 16 on handle 10. Thus, as shownin Figs. 1 and 3, the combined efforts of cocking spring 40, tapered portion 42 and stop flange 16 normally hold arm 32 at a slight angle with respect to handle 10.

The forward end of arm 32 extends beyond the forward end of handle 10 but terminates at a point above and to the rear of stop flange 24 on hammer lever 18. A stop flange 44 extends laterally inwardly from the bottom edge of arm 32 at a point rearwardly from the forward end of the arm. A keeper 46 is pivotally secured to the inner side of the forward end of arm 32 by pin 48. Keeper 46 is comprised of bar 50 which extends substantially perpendicularly across the forward end of arm 32, and a tongue 52 which extends perpendicularly and rear wardly from the middle of bar 50. The upper end of bar 50 presents bumper 53 which is substantially perpendicular to the bar. It should be noted that when the handle 10 is in its initial operating position of Fig, 3that bumper 53 and the point of pivot of keeper 46 (pin 48) are not on the same vertical line. The lower end of bar 50 is tapered at 51 and dwells slightly above and to the rear of stop flange 24 on hammer lever 18 when the device is not in use. Tongue 52 on keeper 46 normally rests on top of stop flange 44 on arm 32. A coil steel spring 54 has one of its ends extending through pin 48, which is rigidly secured to keeper 4:: but pivotally secured to arm 32. The other end of spring 54 normally is secured to arm 32 by screw 56 at a point rearwardly of pin 48. The tension in spring 54 normally holds keeper 46 in the above described position by urging tongue 52 into engagement with the stop flange 44 on arm 32. This relationship between tongue 52 and stop flange 44 is shown in Fig. 3.

The normal operation of my device is as follows: Let it be assumed that the sheet metal 58 in Fig. 3 needs to be worked upon from its lower side. If space requirements would not permit the use of a conventional hammer-like tool, my device could be positioned as shown in Fig. 3 with bumper 53 resting against the sheet metal 58. The two hands of the operator could then exert leverage on handle 10 as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 3. This leverage on handle 10 causes a force reaction on the bumper 53 which is engaged with the sheet metal 58. This force reaction on the bumper 53 attempts to rotate keeper 46 in a counter-clockwise direction about pin 43 as viewed in Fig. 3. But this rotation of the keeper is prevented by the engagement of tongue 52 with the stop flange 44 on arm 32. Thus, the force reaction on bumper 53 is conveyed through the keeper 4-6 to the stop flange 44 on arm 32 and arm 32 begins to rotate in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 3. The lower end of bar 50 on keeper 46 then engages the stop flange 24 on hammer lever 18 and both the hammer lever and the arm 32 will then rotate in a clockwise direction with respect to handle 10 as viewed in Fig. 3. This rotation of hammer lever 18 and arm 32 increases the tension in hammer spring 30 and cocking spring 40. This rotation will continue without event until the device attains the position shown in Fig. 4 where the tongue 52 on keeper 45 engages tongue 14 on the forward end of handle 10. The interference of tongue 14 with the downward movement of the tongue '52 on keeper 46 then causes the keeper to radially rotate in the direction shown by the arrow (heavy lines) in Fig. 5. The continued rotation of the keeper 46 about pin 48 will eventually cause the lower tapered end 51 of bar 50 to become disengaged from the stop flange 24 on hammer lever 18. The solid lines in Fig. depict the position of the keeper 46 and hammer lever 18 at a precise instant before disengagement of bar 50 from stop flange 24. As soon as this disengagement is completed, the hammer spring 30 will cause the hammer element 18 to suddenly move to the position shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 5 so as to permit the hammer point 22 to deliver a blow to the sheet metal 53. The recoil action of hammer lever 18 is limited by the stop flange 16 on handle 10.

As soon as the manual leverage is released from the handle 10, the cocking spring 40 will move arm 32 from the position shown in Fig. 5 to the position shown in Fig. 3. As this action is taking place, and the tongue 52 on keeper 46 clears the tongue 14 on handle 1%, spring 54 on the keeper will once again maintain the position of the keeper with respect to the arm 32 shown in Fig. 3. Thus, my device has completed one cycle and is in position for another cycle as soon as the operator delivers leverage to the handle it in a' similar fashion. As a practical matter, these cycles are repeated at a very rapid rate of speed.

It is seen that the impact of a hammer point 22' is always delivered by hammer spring 30 and will therefore always be uniform. The springs 40 and 54 will always recock my device whenever the leverage is released from handle 10. Yet, my device can be operated in any space (5, which will accommodate the shallow depth of the structure shown in Fig. 5. Furthermore, my tool will not jump away from the metal upon impact because the leverage that makes my device operatable is always holding the tool against the metal. Thus, my invention is seen to accomplish at least all of its stated objectives.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of my thin-metal working tool without departing from the real spirit and purpose of my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claims, any modified forms of structure or use or mechanical equivalents which may be reasonably included within their scope.

I claim:

1. In a metal working tool, an elongated handle, a lever pivotally secured to said handle and extending beyond the forward end thereof, a hammer element on the outer end of said lever, an arm pivotally secured to said handle, spring elements operatively connecting said handle with said lever and said arm to rotate said lever and said arm in a first direction on said handle at times, a stop means on said handle to limit the rotation of said arm and said lever in said first direction, a keeper means movably secured to said arm, said keeper means being capable of engaging said lever at times to rotate in a direction opposite to said first direction, and said keeper means being capable of engaging said handle to release said lever from being rotated in said opposite direction.

2. In a metal working tool, an elongated handle, a lever pivotally secured to said handle, a hammer element on the outer end of said lever, a spring element operatively connecting said handle with said lever to rotate said lever in a first direction on said handle at times, a stop means on said handle to limit the rotation of said lever on said handle in said first direction, and means operatively secured to said handle for rotating said lever in a direction opposite to said first direction, said means being capable of engaging said handle to release said lever from being rotated in said opposite direction.

3. In a metal working tool, an elongated handle, a lever pivotally secured to said handle and extending beyond the forward end thereof, a hammer element on the outer end of said lever, an arm pivotally secured to said handle, spring elements operatively connecting said handle with said lever and said arm to rotate said lever and said arm in a first direction on said handle at times, a stop means on said handle to limit the rotation of said arm and said lever in a said first direction, a keeper means pivotally secured to said arm, a stop means on said arm limiting the pivoted action of said keeper on said arm in one direction, a bumper element on the upper end of said keeper, a lug on said lever, the lower end of said keeper being capable of engaging the lug on said lever to rotate said lever in a direction opposite to said first direction, and a tongue on said keeper capable of engaging said handle after said arm, said keeper and said lever have been rotated in said opposite direction to release the lower end of said keeper from engagement with the lug on said lever.

4. In a metal working tool, an elongated handle, a lever pivotally secured to said handle and extending beyond the forward end thereof, a hammer element on the outer end of said lever, an arm pivotally secured to said handle, spring elements operatively connecting said handle with said'lever and said arm to rotate said lever and said arm in a first direction on said handle at times, a stop means on said handle to limit the'rotation of said arm and said lever in said first direction, a keeper means pivotally secured to said arm, a stop means on said arm limiting the pivoted action of said keeper on said arm in one direction, a spring connecting said arm and said keeper to yieldingly hold said keeper in engagement with the stop means on said arm, a bumper element on the upper end of said keeper, a lug on said lever, the lower end of said keeper being capable of engaging the lug on said lever to rotate said lever in a direction opposite to said first direction, and a tongue on said keeper capable of engaging said handle after said arm, said keeper and said lever have been rotated in said opposite direction to release the lower end of said keeper from engagement with the lug on said lever.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Davis Oct. 9, 1934 

